Ditch the Ride

Our stay in Costa Rica has taken our trip in yet another direction. The days are best characterized by all the trimmings of a classic beach vacation. I've chilled on the beach pina colada in hand, thrown frisbees in the soft sand, and swam in the warm Pacific Ocean.

I've also learned how to surf. Unfortunately, surfing took a quick hostage. My gopro now lies at the bottom of the Pacific. It is a major bummer to be sure (I am now authorized to use surfer slang), but I am also totally over it. I was being dumb using it without an attached floatation device, and I had enough of a test drive with the camera to know that I will be buying another and being more careful in the future. Bigger than losing the camera, I am disappointed that I won't be able to load any of the sweet sweet footage I was taking at the time. A brief text based recount of the material might first mention my natural aptitude for the waves. It is also important to note my creative style. In tandem with the actual physical stunt, my narration was clear and seamless. It is a real disappointment that these videos are forever lost.

Another Costa Rican activity has been trying to plan for Randal's afterlife. Needless to say, I will not be following any sort of ancient Egyptian and Aztec rituals that involve burial, mummification, or accompaniment of worldly possessions. Instead I will be passing ride to next of kin (Matt is paying Costa Rica a visit next week) and then trying to barter for more transportable goods like spoons, textiles, and currency. Shockingly, based on the difficulty to import cars to Costa Rica, even the 1991 Dodge Spirit has drawn much praise and interest from perspective buyers. Really I would be ecstatic for 200 dollars in exchange. This would make my return flight ticket a mere 71 dollars. I would also be interested in some sort of wall hanging or good that I could point to for the rest of my life and say "Yep, I traded a car for that!" We'll see what sort of arrangements transpire. The most tricky part of the dealing, is that Randal isn't truly a legal permanent import. Instead, I brought him in under the guise of a temporary import. It will take some time and dollars to remove this label.